Weight up the advantages of each approach and see which is going to work best for you. Personally I stick by not generally using practice schedules but if you think you want or need that kind of regimented practice then so be it.

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No, I genuinely believe that for 99% of guitar players these days making yourself stick to a schedule is entirely unnecessary and that enjoyment should be the first and biggest aim on your list.

I totally agree, although at this point I'm only playing because I want to be able to play all my favourite songs. But, I didn't pick up the guitar to run exercises (though I do see the need for them). I'd much rather be having fun with my guitar then making it seem like a second job.

I totally agree, although at this point I'm only playing because I want to be able to play all my favourite songs. But, I didn't pick up the guitar to run exercises (though I do see the need for them). I'd much rather be having fun with my guitar then making it seem like a second job.

Just be careful with that. Its easy to get into the habit of just learning songs and forget about some of the exercises that go a long way toward building speed, dexterity, etc. I did that for years. I practiced last night for 4 hours and did a fast Gary Moore muted ascending run for most of that time. It takes a long time to get unfamiliar stuff under your fingers (if it is complex in nature). Then I applied the pattern to different scales/ modes that I am working on developing. That way I can do more than just play the line in that song. Work on applying stuff you learn to rhythm tracks or a drum machine. No matter how fast you get it is worthless if you cant use it when you need to in a musical situation.

There is a lot of variability to how good professionals are. Compare Slash to John Petrucci - one of them very clearly spends more time getting to know his metronome (not a comment on preference, mind, but on technicality).
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Why did I mention those two? Because both guitarists are successful professionals. Why did I compare them? Because Slash doesn't practice very often (he's admitted as much in interviews, saying it's not interesting to him to sit down and practice technique rather than just playing music) and Petrucci is a technical machine (he and John Myung had a deal going at Berkeley wherein they agreed to practice 6+ hours each day). Both guitarists are well known and successful, but there's a lot of difference in how and what they practice, which goes to highlight that being a professional doesn't mean that you have to practice a certain amount of time each day.

Why did I mention those two? Because both guitarists are successful professionals. Why did I compare them? Because Slash doesn't practice very often (he's admitted as much in interviews, saying it's not interesting to him to sit down and practice technique rather than just playing music) and Petrucci is a technical machine (he and John Myung had a deal going at Berkeley wherein they agreed to practice 6+ hours each day). Both guitarists are well known and successful, but there's a lot of difference in how and what they practice, which goes to highlight that being a professional doesn't mean that you have to practice a certain amount of time each day.

Ah ok. I would consider what Slash does still practicing as he does play. Zakk Wylde doesn't call it practicing, he calls it playing. I'm in there camp as sitting and running up and down scales is dull.

Ah ok. I would consider what Slash does still practicing as he does play. Zakk Wylde doesn't call it practicing, he calls it playing. I'm in there camp as sitting and running up and down scales is dull.

Well, in my camp, Zakk "minor pentatonic" Wylde sooner or later gets a little dull as well, if you see where I'm going

Ah ok. I would consider what Slash does still practicing as he does play. Zakk Wylde doesn't call it practicing, he calls it playing. I'm in there camp as sitting and running up and down scales is dull.

I feel like it's important to each player to find their happy medium. Personally, I enjoy playing more than practicing, but it's necessary for me to practice to play at the level that I enjoy most, so it's a necessary evil.

I don't know how those guys played so much if they had work or school. I'm good for maybe 3 hours on a work day, and that's only if I'm not more focused on something else. I love learning and playing the guitar, and I used to play 8+ hours a day when i first started learning(still do on some weekends), but it's hard when I've worked all day or if there is something else that I'd like to do.

I'm guessing that, for guys like Jon Petrucci and Steve Vai, playing the guitar is the only thing worth doing. That's cool for them, but I have way too many hobbies that I love to focus on just one. It sucks because I'll never be as good as them, despite the thousands of hours I've already invested in playing the guitar.

I feel like it's important to each player to find their happy medium. Personally, I enjoy playing more than practicing, but it's necessary for me to practice to play at the level that I enjoy most, so it's a necessary evil.

Seconding this. The music I like to play ranges from simple pop covers to technically intense rock and fusion. Turns out, it takes quite a time investment to play diverse material even below the professional level.

That said, "practice" becomes more interesting when you're approaching more complex ideas and music. Practicing jazz often means sitting down with recordings and playing through them, just with a very focused, methodical approach (ie, playing specific chord voicings or scales/arpeggios). It's more of a sophisticated rudiment study.

Strict technical exercises are something I do for an hour a day at most. After that it's all repertoire and musical concepts. And, assuming I've eaten my musical vegetables, I sit down and just jam.

Ah ok. I would consider what Slash does still practicing as he does play. Zakk Wylde doesn't call it practicing, he calls it playing. I'm in there camp as sitting and running up and down scales is dull.

This is based on the absolutely flawed idea that practice is limited to exercises and scales.

I've done a lot of practice in my time but I can probably count the number of hours I've spent just running exercises or scales to a metronome on one hand.

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R.I.P. My Signature. Lost to us in the great Signature Massacre of 2014.